Preserved timber and method of making same.



I No Drawing.

EDWIN LE SUEUR POWELL, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA,

CREOSOTE WORKS, A COPARTNERSHIP CONSISTING 0F SYLVESTER ASSIGNOR TOAMERICAN W. LABROT,

EDWIN L. POWELL, WILLIAM S. BRYAN, AND JOHN M. VAN DERVEER.

PRESERVED TIMBER AND METHOD MAKING SAME.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN L. POWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPreserved Timber and Methods of Making Same; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The object of my present inventlon isthe production of timber,particularly piles, which shall be fully preserved for a part only oftheir length, that is, at the part, or parts where they are subject todecay or to the action of insects, teredo, liminoris, or fungus, etc.

These results I accomplish in the manner set forth below.

This invention relates to the preservation of unsawn timber, such aspiles, telephone poles, posts, etc., particularly of such woods asSouthern yellow pine, etc., which wood has, inside its bark a sort ofthin inner bark, commonly referred to as skin since it is in the form ofa thin reddish brown skin which adheres very closely to the wood. Nowthis skin, is practically impervious to creosote and similarpreservatives and if wood is to be wholly impregnated this skin must beremoved. It has heretofore been proposed to impregnate piles, poles,etc., for

a part only of their length, and for many purposes this is advisable.

Now my present invention consists in the preservation of poles, piles,etc., through a part of their length by first removing the outer bark,if desired, from the entire length of the stick, and removing the skin,or inner bark (substantially completely) from only that part of thelength which it is desired to impregnate, and then treating the entirestick of wood with the oil, under the usual or any preferred conditionsof heat, vacuum, pressure, etc.

Wood does not decay in that part which is permanently in wet soil, butthe part in salt water is subjected to the destructive action ofanimals,marine borersand the part above the water line, and also thepart which is alternately wet and dry, is subject to decay and fungousgrowth, dry rot, etc.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24., 1915.

Application filed. May 9, 1912. Serial No. 696,267.

Wood constantly submerged in fresh water does not suifer much from decayor insect life. Accordingly it is necessary to creosote pilmg to be usedin fresh water only in that part from say two feet below low water markup to the top of the pile while in the case of piling to be used in saltwater the wood should be impregnated from a point say four feet belowthe mud line to the top of the pile. Heretofore all piling used in thiscountry, which has been creosotedat all has been treated the full lengthand on account of the fact that the'small end or top of the tree (as itgrows) contains a much larger percentage of sap wood than the butt, theend of the pile which goes into the ground has a much greater amount ofoil, per cubic foot, than the butt, or in other words the part of thestick requiring no preser/ative gets the greatest amount of preservativefluid.

Now by my improved process, substantially no oil is used to impregnatethat part of the wood which does not require preservation, the smallamount absorbed apparently entering through small breaks or cutsaccidentally made in the inner bark or skin.

It is preferable to remove all the skin from that part of the lengthwhich it is desired to fully impregnate, but small pieces, say notgreater than an inch wide by five or six inches long will not preventsubstantially complete impregnation at these points.

Any desired method of impregnation may be employed, open cell, fullcell, impregnation clear to the heart or more superficial, as desired.

It-is also obvious that certain other kinds of wood, beside Southernyellow .pine may i have an inner bark similar to that described for thiskind of wood, and my invention also includes the preservation of suchwoods.

Obviously other preservatives beside creosote may be employed.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A stick of timberhaving the outer bark removed therefrom, and having the inner barkremoved from a portion only of its length, and having said portionimpregnated with a preservative.

2. A pile having the outer bark removed therefrom, and having the innerbark removed from a portion of its length near the end having the largerdiameter, and having said portion impregnated with a preserva- 5 :tive.

3. A stick of timber having the outer'bark removed therefrom throughoutsubstantially its entire length; and having the inner bark on a portionof its length, and having another portion of its length impregnated witha preservative.

4:. A process of impregnating a portion of the length of a stick oftimber, which comprises removing the outer bark from substantially theentire length of the stick and removing the inner bark from a portion ofthe length of said stick, then treating with a preservative, underconditions whereby the portion from which the bark is removed beit comesimpregnated with the preservative.

5. Yellow pine piling, having the outer bark removed therefrom,throughout substantially its entire length-and having the inner barkremoved froma portion of its length adjacent the end of larger diameter,

and having the inner bark left on the remainder of its length, said endof larger diameter being impregnated with a preservative.

6. Yellow pine piling, having the outer bark removed therefrom,throughout substantially its entire length and having the inner barkremoved from a portion of its length adjacent the end of largerdiameter, and having the inner bark left on the remainder of its length,said end of larger diameter being impregnated with a preservative oil.

7. Yellow pine .piling, having the outer bark removed therefrom,throughout substantially its entire length and having the inner barkremoved from a portion of its length'adjacent the end of largerdiameter, and having the inner bark left on the remainder of its length,said end of larger dilameter being impregnated with creosote o1 8. Aprocess of preserving wood which comprises the removal of the outer barkand leaving on a portion only of the length of the wood a material whichwill substantially prevent entrance of a preservative liquid, andimpregnating the wood with a v preservative.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN LE SUEUR POWELL.

Witnesses:

W. SooT'r BRYAN, THOS. WHITE.

